The number of visas approved for people coming to this country on working holidays is increasing steadily and the number of overseas students getting visas is also starting to rise strongly.
The latest figures from the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment show that 5682 working holiday visas were approved in June, up from 2862 in May and 2331 in April, making that group the largest within the work visa category in June.
This means the number of working holiday visas approved in June was higher than it was pre-pandemic, with 5223 working holiday visas approved in June 2019.
The next biggest group were 2328 skilled workers followed by those obtaining their visa on the basis of a relationship (1401).
Altogether, those three groups accounted for 85% of the 11,000 work visas approved in June this year.
The number of student visas being approved also increased significantly for the second month in a row.
Between April 2020 and April 2022, the number of visas issued to overseas students for the first time was in the low-to-mid 100s each month, but that jumped to 1344 in May and 1728 in June.
However, June's figures were still down by two thirds compared to the 5034 first time student visas issued in June 2019, before pandemic restrictions on travel were introduced.
According to MBIE the total number of people in this country on work or student visas continued to decline in June, with 30,978 in the country on student visas at the end of June, down from 32,196 in May, which meant there were 55,137 (-64%) fewer overseas students in the country at the end of June compared to the peak of 86,115 in October 2019.
That means the number of overseas students in this country is the lowest it has been since the MBIE data series began in 2008.
There were 130,338 people in this country on work visas at the end of June, down from 141,990 in May and down by 90,396 (-41%) compared to the March 2020 peak of 220,734.
However, the decline in work visa numbers has likely been affected by many people on work visas becoming New Zealand residents under the one-off 2021 Resident Visa scheme, which fast tracked resident visa applications for people who had already been in this country for several years.
At the beginning of this month Immigration Minister Michael Wood said 60,000 migrants had been approved for residency under the scheme.
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23 Comments
Could we get some graphs of these figures Greg?
Interested to see what this looks like, particularly with the pre-covid comparison.
Given NZ has really only just opened up, and how long people often take to make plans, I imagine it'd be a good 6-12 months before the figures were overly reliable.
It's almost as if Kiwis aren't the only ones champing at the bit to spread their wings.
I wonder if they're on finance websites in their own countries having a moan also.
Shichi percento? Kuso!
What's german for "be quick" and the plane emoji.
🛩
Credit to INZ for adopting a software solution that uses ML to automate decision-making on low-risk applications.
Looks like less resources are being wasted on reviewing applications that involve 2x median wage earners, tourists from low-risk countries with good history, student and workers renewing their visas with same conditions, etc.
Machine learning? Can't you do with a spreadsheet and filters?
now to spread it's use into other areas of govt. and reduce the "human" element
Having dealt with the human element at INZ I'll take the machines thanks
Hows that photo lol
Good news for Wellington landlords - finally some demand for rentals!
Not gonna lie. I'm in this boat and like this news lol
Will have to be enough to net against the exodus that is also occurring. Our company is losing under 35s in droves, many simply can't afford NZ anymore.
So your effectively saying the company doesn't pay enough.
Too many entitled older folk holding the young up by the ankles and shaking the money out of their pockets.
Wait until they arrive and find most of the hostels full of emergency housing tenants and the insane cost of living.
A bit off topic, but everyone coming here should be aware of the high cost of living (survival):
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/cost-of-living-crisis-new-zealand-…
Maybe this is what investors and house owners are waiting for, an influx of people.
Exploitable cheap international labour?
Count me in!
Conveyer belt to Aussie up and running.
Hi Greg, I'm not sure why you used a memorial painting of the 15 people killed in the Childers Palace Backpacker Hostel fire in 2000 in your article.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-02-02/childers-backpacker-hostel-kille…
Hi Steve,
Thanks for drawing that to our attention. The image has now been changed. It appeared in an internet search under the heading backpackers, but without details of the painting's significance. Our sincere apologies to anyone this caused distress to.
Cheers ,Thank you
Read an article on the weekend that indicated that NZ was the second worst country to emigrate to and live in the world. The worst was Kuwait. Cost of living was a big driver as well as opportunity (lack of) and wage rates.
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